. This study determined the effects of low concentrations of five food hydrocolloids on the taste intensities of aqueous solutions of sucrose, citric acid, sodium chloride, saccharin, and caffeine. The effects of the taste compounds on both oral and Brookfield viscosities were also measured. In general, sourness of citric acid and bitterness of caffeine were suppressed, while sweetness of saccharin was enhanced. Among the basic tastes, sourness was affected the most and saltiness the least. Except for sucrose, modification of taste intensity was independent of viscosity, and appeared to be related to the physicochemical properties of the hydrocolloid and the taste compound. About 16 cps were needed to reduce significantly the sweetness of sucrose. The taste compounds altered oral and physical viscosities differentially depending on the specific gum/taste combination. Generally, viscosity was reduced by the addition of all taste compounds except sucrose which increased the physical viscosity.

Effect of hydrocolloids on oral viscosity and basic taste intensities

By paired comparison methods, concentrations of 0.75% and 0.86% calcium cyclamate and of 0.17% and 0.19% aspartame were equivalent in sweetness to 10% sucrose in distilled water at 3° and 22°C, respectively. Inherent bitterness of the compounds prevented precise assessment of relative sweetness for sodium saccharin in distilled water, and for the saccharin and cyclamate in flavored drinks. By application of linear regression to the paired comparison data, 0.07% aspartame was calculated as equal in sweetness to 10% sucrose in lemon, strawberry and orange drinks. Because the underlying bitterness of saccharin interfered with assessment of its sweetness, a time-intensity technique was applied. Using a chart recorder to monitor time, time-intensity (T-I) measurements were made of the intensity and the duration of sweetness, bitterness, sourness and flavor in distilled water, and the same characteristics, plus flavor in three flavored drinks, and two flavored gelatins, sweetened with sucrose, cyclamate, or saccharin. T-I curves for the sensory properties of aspartame closely resembled those for sucrose in all media. Cyclamate and saccharin imparted a marked, persistent bitterness to all carriers. In gelatin, samples containing 18% sucrose were firmer initially and took longer to manipulate to a liquid in the mouth than did gelatins containing 0.105% aspartame, 0.55% cyclamate, or 0.05% saccharin.

Paired comparison and time-intensity measurements of the sensory properties of beverages and gelatins containing sucrose or synthetic sweeteners

SUMMARY
–The relative sweetness of sugars and sugar mixtures was studied. In addition to the simple sugars (sucrose, dextrose and fructose), the amino acids, glycine and D, L-alanine, and the synthetic sweeteners, calcium cyclamate and sodium saccharin, were studied. Using the method of magnitude estimation, considerable data were obtained about relative sweetness over a reasonably wide concentration range. Only two sessions per subject were required to obtain meaningful results. Relative sweetness of the sugars was found to increase with increasing concentration—a pattern quite similar for all the sugars. Changing the reference or reference concentration resulted in shifts in the relative sweetness values for a particular sugar; however, these changes were consistent at all concentrations tested. Slope values for the individual sugars were in good agreement with previously reported results. The individual subjects responses showed a consistent pattern throughout the 10-month period.

Synergistic effects, as much as 20 to 30%, were noted in several sugar mixture combinations but not all concentrations. The data support the concept that there are optimal mixture combinations. The potential applications of these observations are discussed.

Measurement of the Relative Sweetness of Selected Sweeteners and Sweetener Mixtures

Throughout the world many people use artificial sweeteners (AS) for the purpose of reducing caloric intake. The most prominently used of these molecules include saccharin, aspartame (Nutrasweet), a...

https://www.physiology.org/doi/pdf/10.1152/ajpregu.00286.2007

Artificial sweeteners and salts producing a metallic taste sensation activate TRPV1 receptors

The relationships among suprathreshold taste responses to acesulfame-K, Na-saccharin and 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) were examined in two studies. In the first study, the labeled magnitude scale was used with the high anchor labeled as 'strongest imaginable oral sensation' and in the second study, it was labeled as 'strongest imaginable sensation of any kind'. Results from the two procedures were similar. Individual differences among 65 subjects were seen in bitter responses to acesulfame-K and saccharin. Bitter responses to acesulfame-K ands accharin were positively correlated, but showed no significant relationship with responses to PROP bitterness or with PROP taster groups. Saccharin and acesulfame-K may share a common mechanism for bitter taste reception and transduction, one that varies across individuals and is different from mechanisms mediating bitter responses to PROP. Changing the instructions of the labeled magnitude scale induced a context effect. Ratings of sweetness referenced to the 'strongest imaginable sensationof any kind' were lower than ratings referenced to just oral sensations.

Bitter taste of saccharin and acesulfame-K.

Standard taste panel techniques have been used to study the incidence of the off‐taste of saccharin salt solutions, freshly prepared without heating. Evidence is presented to show that the off‐taste of saccharin is intrinsic in the saccharin molecule as tasted by individuals who are sensitive to it. Decomposition products or trace impurities are not essential to the off‐taste response. Approximately 25 per cent of the population can be expected to detect the off‐taste in saccharin concentrations up to 0.026 per cent, equivalent to about 10 per cent sucrose. It has been shown that the off‐taste response was substantially the same for saccharin sodium, saccharin calcium, and for saccharin sodium prepared by new synthetic methods intended to eliminate trace impurities.

A taste panel study of the saccharin off-taste.

Taste panel techniques were used to study the relative sweetness and the incidence of off-taste in solutions of cyclamate, of saccharin, and of their 10:1 mixture.The mixture showed potentiation of sweetness, since it was sweeter than would be expected from the known sweetness of its components.Off-taste is minimized in the mixture to the extent that it is less than for either component in corresponding concentrations.The decrease in off-taste is more noteworthy when the approximately doubled sweetness of the mixture is considered.

Matthew J. Lynch

Papers

A taste panel study of the saccharin off-taste.

A Taste Panel Study of Cyclamate-SaccharinMixture and of Its Components *